City News

Mayor Purzycki Joins More Than 250 U.S. Mayors to Support LGBT Equality as Pride Month is Celebrated

Post Date:06/15/2017 2:00 PM

Mayors collectively represent 57 million constituents in 47 states

Mayor Mike Purzycki said today that Wilmington has joined Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination, a broad-based nonpartisan coalition of local elected officials around the country. The organization has more than 250 members from 47 states and the District of Columbia which support LGBT nondiscrimination efforts as part of a national organization entitled Freedom for All Americans. Mayor Purzycki is the first Mayor in Delaware to join the coalition.

"Wilmington is a place where all of our LGBT friends, family members, and neighbors are welcome,” said Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. “Our City has a long history of promoting equal opportunity and justice for LGBT employees as we were one of the first governments in this region to establish a domestic partnership benefits program. Wilmington has been at the forefront of the State of Delaware’s efforts to ensure statewide protections from discrimination through the enactment of marriage equality. While we have and will continue to make progress, too many LGBT people continue to face unequal treatment and hostility simply because of who they are. I am proud to join Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination to show support for my LGBT constituents and to do our part to help finish the job of bringing equality to all in America."

Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination launched in January at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC, and will convene at the next conference in Miami Beach at the end of this month. In past months, mayors in the coalition have spoken at in-person briefings and hosted online panels about equality, spoken out in the media about their personal stories of support, and issued public statements against discriminatory legislation and rollbacks to LGBT rights. To learn more and to view a full list of mayors participating in each state, visit www.mayorsagainstlgbtdiscrimination.org.